Revenant
by NajiKat
Summary: For Jesse Wyethe, life had been very plain and simple. Get up, go to class, go to sleep, rinse and repeat. But when a strange blind girl comes into his life, Jesse's whole world is turned upside-down. Is it love at first site? Or is it something more?
1. Sunlight

The battle raged around him as he made his way through the carnage, bodies were being cut asunder and life-giants were being torn apart, but he paid no mind to it at all. He'd rather let his demonic minions deal with the battle. Even with these demons being so puny, they were smart enough to attack in groups and with their combined efforts, they brought down several Varënir warriors one by one. But even as the chaos ensued, the Demon paid no mind to it as he only had one thing in mind; the mountain-temple. He knew she was hiding in the temple nestled behind the giant walls of the Varënir fortress. There was no where else for her to hide now. Knowing her, she probably had no idea he was coming. His crimson eyes flickered with a sinister light as he passed by the ravenous battle around him. Several soldiers attempted to stop him, but just glancing in their direction caused their bodies to disintegrate before him. There was no stopping such an abomination such as this, not even the Life-Binder's most powerful servants could stop him.

In the distance, a powerful spirit-dragon could be seen flying towards him. He couldn't help but smile as a Sëinir would waste his most prized beast on something as powerful as himself. Maniacal laughter echoed across the battlefield as the Demon let out a guffaw when the dragon swooped in to attack him. He caught the dragon by the ivory spike growing on it's snout, and all in one swift movement, the Demon had snapped the dragons neck and effortlessly tossed it aside as if it were useless garbage. The dragon's massive body fell upon a majority of the combatants, either crushing them or knocking them off balance. The Demon continued towards the Fortress walls, they wouldn't hold him back for long, not with this strength. Nothing could stop him.

And there she stood, as beautiful as the sunlight over the ocean, there she was. The Angel. The Demon flashed her a toothy grin, he was proud that finally one of his opponents - no - victims, could look him directly in the eye. She showed no fear as he approached her, he could tell she was prepared for anything. Gently, he stroked her face with the back of his finger and gave her a sinister smile.

"Come now, Angel, bless me with your heavenly smile," He mocked her as he brushed a strand of blond hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear, that was the way she liked her beautiful hair. "Won't you share your beloved magic with me, my dear?" Tears rolled down her face as he continued to mock her, but it wasn't the mockery that upset her, it was the fact that he returned as this creature. This monster had taken everything about him and turned it into this mockery of the beautiful person he once was. She had to try and free his mind, call to his heart, there had to be some peace left in there somewhere. But she was afraid and with good reason too. She had just witnessed him destroy an entire legion of Varënir and even the Kænir army was no match for the Demon's power. But even with this fear, she had to try and save his heart, this was the only chance she would get and she had to act fast before he grew bored and killed her. With a deep breath, the Angel reached out and thrust her hand into his chest, his face was contorted in pain as her hand came in contact with his scarred chest. She smiled triumphantly as she realized her power over him, with this power she could release him. Or so she hoped.

Late again, as usual, and on an important day such as this. Yeah, today was the day everyone had been preparing for; midterm exams. But to Jesse Wyethe, it didn't seem to important to him even though it was worth half of his passing grade. With a blank, almost bored expression, he made his way down the streets of London, England towards the college. King's College as it was known, one of the most renown and respectable colleges in England. Most of the attending students at King's were highly respected, as most of them were either English Royalty-descendants or just extremely wealthy. But to Jesse, none of that meant anything to him. In his opinion, college was just something to pass the time while he waited for life to send him in the right direction. Everyone looked down on him for being so nonchalant, they told him that waiting for his destiny wouldn't get him anywhere and that he had to find it on his own. But he didn't seem to care about what they said, or what anyone said.

Jesse had always been the secluded student at King's, he either avoided the other students or ignored them completely. The few that spoke to him to knew him well enough to where he treated them with just an ounce of respect, usually earning them a vile insult, which in most cases the silent treatment was all he offered others. Even with his sharp tongue and low tolerance for others, he never went far enough to engage in an all-out brawl with the source of his annoyance. Though others might've poked and prodded at his nerves, Jesse never answered their taunts with violence, even though there were some instances where a swift kick to the face wouldn't have caused that much damage. Even the college professors were wary of Jesse's intolerant temperment, but even so they never let up on him regardless of his excellent grades. Only every so often would a professor earn a frustrated glance or that soul-piercing glare he was known for around the campus.

But Jesse wasn't always known for his anti-social behavior, in fact he was quite the sweetheart back in his home. He grew up as an only child on a huge strip of land in Wales that belonged to his father. He spent his childhood tending to the farm with his father, never really envisioning a better life then that. To Jesse, the farm in Wales was everything he had ever known and how he imagined the rest of the world. He was always happy and friendly towards others, and never rejected anyone. The people in the town could clearly see the cause of Jesse's happy-go-lucky attitude originated from his father's sweet and caring heart. He was always glad to help out on the farm and never had any issues with living a poor lifestyle, because to him, he wasn't poor at all. But his father knew better and decided there was going to be a better life for him and sent him to a small school just a few miles from their farm. Almost instantly, Jesse picked up the curriculum and excelled in his grades, so much that he had earned a college scholarship before he had even began middle-school. With this scholarship, he was able to go to the college of his choice, regardless of the cost. He was reluctant to chose a college, as he wasn't too keen on leaving the farm and his father.

But tragedy struck and Jesse's father was caught right in the middle of it. When Jesse was away visiting his friends in the town, a band of hooligans vandalized the farm, releasing the livestock into the fields and ransacking the barn, they even had the gall to set fire to their farm house. It didn't take long for the fire to spread and consume the rest of the farm. When Jesse learned that his father and the farm had been lost in the fire, he had a complete change of heart. He became very distant and treated others very harshly, pushing away almost all of his friends. He grew very cold and vowed that he would no longer accept anyone else in his life, all for the fear of losing them like he lost his father. To escape his father's memory, Jesse used his scholarship to enter King's College and left Wales for good.

Ten thirty-five flashed across the tiny LED screen on his watch, he was exactly two and a half hours late for class now. As he walked down the crowded streets, he silently prepared himself for the long lecture his professors would give him about punctuality and how they expected better of an A student. Yes, even with his carefree attitude, Jesse was the top of his class. But even with that Jesse stayed the same, just as nonchalant and stubborn as ever. He stopped as he came to a cross walk, the light flashed a bright red hand as the cars sped past him. Even with such small, crowded streets, the drivers were still as crazy as ever, recklessly ripping through the streets while they barely missed clipping each other. Jesse rolled his eyes as the red hand shifted to the white figure, indicating it was safe to cross. But when he reached the otherside of the street, something caught his eye, a girl stood with her toes at the edge of the sidewalk as she stared blankly at the street. She looked normal enough, ever though her sandy hair was abnormally long. But something about her drew Jesse's attention.

When she glanced in his direction, Jesse feared she'd question him for staring at her, but she showed no indication of seeing him directly. It felt to Jesse as if she was looking right through him, but then he realized her eyes, they were a milky pink color and it seemed as if they held no life within them. But suddenly without warning, she stepped out into the street, oblivious to the traffic around her. A double-decker bus swerved around the corner and as the girl came into view, the driver slammed on the breaks to avoid hitting her. The momentum of the bus was too strong though, he wouldn't be able to stop the bus in time. Without thinking, Jesse reached out and grabbed the girl by the arm, pulling her back onto the side walk just before the bus sped past them. A shocked expression was visible on the girls face, finally something other then a blank stare.

"What happened..?" She asked him, her voice was trembling as she looked from side to side. Jesse's eyes widened with incredulity at the girl's ridiculous respone, could she really be that stupid? "Uh, hello? Did you not notice the speeding bus on your right..?" He motioned towards the street and rolled his eyes, he was baffled at the girl's stupidity. But the girl continued to stare off in the distance, as if she was oblivious to his existence, even sudden movements didn't cause her to flinch. Then Jesse realized it. The milky eyes, blank stares, suicidal jay-walking, the girl was blind.

He took a deep breath and bit his tongue, then looked around embarrassed. When he looked back, the girl's frightened expression weighed more then the guilt itself. Jesse scratched his head and rolled his eyes, he had to help her out now that he had the gall to speak so disrespectfully to her. Back in Wales, women and young ladies were always treated with kindness and respect and his father had always made it priority to teach Jesse those values. He hung his head with guilt and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey..Is there somewhere I can take you? I'm pretty sure you don't want to wander the street all day.." She smiled looked in the direction of his voice, her expression grew calm as the sharp tone of his voice died down, "Why, that's very kind of you." She handed him a piece of paper and gave him a blank smile, Jesse recognized the writing on the paper as the address for the college.

"Could you direct me to King's College, I have to meet with a Professor there." Her voice was very soft, it almost sounded fragile, as if the girl had to be extremely cautious when she spoke. Jesse couldn't help but smile at the sound of her fragile voice as he took her hand and led her in the direction of the college.

The whole way to the college, the girl stayed very quiet but her face gave away the reaction she had to everything around her. The sounds, the smells, everything must have appealed to her so much more then it did Jesse, considering that was how she navigated. Jesse could tell that every sound and every smell was practically drawing a map of this area in the girls head, he couldn't help but admire her attentiveness of her surroundings.

"My name is Karinka, Karinka Novichav." The sudden break of the silence was somewhat surprising to Jesse, but he was somewhat relieved. What? Relieved, why?

"Jesse Wyethe, first year student at King's College." Despite his protests against his brain, he answered her anyways. He was known to shun those around him and had no respect for anyone. Yet here he was, escorting a blind girl to the college, all while treating her respectfully. But regardless of his reputation, he felt responsible for this girls well-being, even though he had only known her for a short time. She looked so weak and helpless, but something stood out in her that made her appear strong and no matter how hard he tried, Jesse just couldn't put his finger on it. He smiled and opened the door to the main hall of the college, his previous thoughts erased from his mind. He didn't care anymore why she attracted him so, and for once he was quite happy to have someone to talk to. He knew she probably would not be there for long, but in the back of his mind he hoped that she would stay longer. An involuntary gasp escaped him as he realized what he was thinking, once again it conflicted with his attitude towards other people. What's gotten into him?

"Where am I taking you?" He asked her as he looked over a message board on the wall, it listed the classroom numbers and the professors assigned to each room. Jesse looked at her with a worried expression when she didn't answer. A huge window looked out over the beautiful green courtyard of the campus. The morning sun was shining through the window so brightly, all the lights in the hall were turned off as the sun fed light through the windows dotting the massive walls of the hall. Karinka stood before the window, her eyes were closed and her hands were rested on the clear glass as if she were feeling the sun's heat through the window.

"Can you see that?" Jesse hated to interrupt her, but his curiosity got the best of him.

"No..But I can feel it.." She opened her eyes and sighed, a saddened expression overwhelmed her peaceful visage. "I wish I could see it..I'm sure it's beautiful, whatever it may be." Kari turned around and felt through the air for Jesse until he took her hand, then she offered him a smile. Once again it looked so fragile and weak, he feared it would shatter.

"Where am I taking you Karinka?" He glanced back at the board and scanned through the names, ready to pick out their destination.

"Dr. Meraph's lab, please." Jesse grinned, he knew exactly where Dr. Meraph's lab was, but then he remembered how he was late for the exam. The good doctor would be quite angry he was late, but he shook his head, erasing those thoughts. It meant nothing now. He tugged her hand gently, indicating which direction to start walking in, then led her through the massive halls.


	2. Anomalous

"That's alittle ridiculous, don't you think?" Jesse made no effort to hide his opinion of the professors idea, even though Dr. Meraph was quite prideful in his work and absolutely hated negative criticism. The doctor swore under his breath and narrowed his eyes, shooting him a piercing stare, then turned back to his work. Meraph was going over all of the documents and equations spread out across the table, this was the information that he requested from Russia. Kari explained to Jesse that Meraph had called her to London to work on his new dimensional theory, he believed that with her help, he could confirm his theory. Jesse was all to familiar with Meraph's theory, he believed that he had discovered alternate dimensions through his endless studies, and was a giddy as a school girl when the subject of dimensional travel came up. He said that with this experiment, he hoped to be the first man on Earth to collect data from one of these dimensions. Simple data, oxygen levels, soil samples, small details to get him started on his road to fame and glory.

Jesse was quite surprised that Kari was interested in all of Meraph's work, but then he explained that she was a scientist from Nizhnevartovsk of northern Russia, where she also studied dimensional anomalies. Jesse couldn't help but laugh out loud when Meraph said that he truly believed Kari could help him access other dimensions. But Jesse couldn't tell what he thought was more humorous, a crazy scientist bent on dimensional travel, or a Russian scientist unable to safely cross a crosswalk. It was then that all of Jesse's suspects of the doctor's questionable mental health were confirmed, did this man seriously think that girl was a scientist? Jesse had to admit she was smart and very sweet, but he just could not bring himself to accept the fact that she was a scientist.

The doctor's face turned red with annoyance, he couldn't stand Jesse's sovereign disregard for his pride in his work, but he scoffed and turned away from him. Disregard was probably the only form of acknowledgment Meraph would ever get from Jesse.

"Miss Novichav, are you ready to begin?" He turned to Karinka, who ran her fingers over the dotted surface of a brailled text book. She broke her train of thought for only a second to answer accordingly, then set her fingers to work on the dotted pages again. Jesse rolled his eyes and started for the door, he was happy to finally be away from those two and their crazy theories. At the same time, he was a bit reluctant to leave Karinka. As he left the lab, he checked his watch again, the LED screen formed the numbers eleven twenty-four. Jesse had managed to miss all but one class. He sighed and made his way down the hall towards his next class, he hoped that his last class would clear his mind of the days events.

What he wouldn't give to just walk out the door and never come back. Even with his excellent grades in all of his classes, he truly thought all of the material they taught was boring. He never felt any motivation for leaving his apartment in the mornings. Jesse felt the highlight of his day was probably his walk to and fro the school to his home, but other then that he was extremely bored with everything else. He was starting to think meeting Kari on the street was probably the most exciting thing to happen to him all year. Kari. Thinking about her brought a smile to his face, but he couldn't explain why. A blind girl almost steps in front of a bus and suddenly he felt so protective and somewhat responsible for her well being. But why? He just couldn't figure it out no matter what angle he examined the situaton. Perhaps she was an angel? He laughed out loud as the thought came into his mind. But then he stopped and remembered what his father used to tell him. His father always said there were angels in the world, but they came in many different forms. He would tell him that angels could bring happiness even to the darkest soul. Jesse smiled at the thought, and laughed again as his own smile confirmed what his father had taught him.

His unusual smile earned him weird stares from those who were familiar with his aggresive attitude, people even stopped and stared at him as he passed by. They were all completely awestruck by him. But as he made his way through the halls of the campus, he began to notice that many things he had grown so familiar with were out of place. Or rather, not in place at all. The door to his last class was missing completely, it was almost as if the door had never been built there in the first place. Jesse ran his fingers over the now smooth wall searching for seams or cracks, anything to prove his mind was playing tricks on him. He stepped back and looked around to make sure he was in the right hall, but the small plaque displaying the class number and subject was still on the wall. Room 422, World History, he was in the right place alright, but the door wasn't there. Even the window looking into the lecture hall was gone, as if the room itself didn't even exist anymore. Finally tearing his eyes from the puzzling sight, he circled the rest of the campus. As before, several rooms and windows were absent from the building structure, even a whole staircase was missing in the main hall which caused a crowd of awestruck students and professors.

But when everyone thought vanishing rooms and staircases was strange enough, they started reappearing in the most unlikely places. Jesse overheard many students talking about how the staircase materialized in the girl's restroom, the walls, sinks and bathroom stalls all conformed to fit the structure of the staircase. The stairs came out of the walls and ceilings and looked as if it had always been built in that strange manner. Rooms even began reappearing, but in ways that shattered every law of physics. Room 422 reappeared on the floor in the main office, but upon opening the door Jesse saw the entire classroom was turned completely upside-down. To those inside the room, the proportion of the room was completely normal and gravity effected them so, as it appeared they were walking on the ceiling of the inverted room.

Soon the main halls of the campus were packed with students, most of the professors and security guards believed the halls were the safest place for the students at the moment. During all the commotion, no one even noticed the main exits had vanished as well, leaving them trapped within the campus. While the group stayed in the lobby halls, several people were sent to different parts of the campus to find the exits. Frightened people began striking out violently at the security guards in a panic, with no explanation for what was happening it was expected for people to panic like this. Without warning, a student stood up and started for the halls towards the main exit, regardless of a security guard's protests. But as he took his first step, the floor beneath him shifted and swirled inwards, losing it's firmness in the process. Before anyone could react, the swirled floor devoured the man as if it were fast-reacting quicksand, then shifted back to it's original form. Every stared in wonder at what had just transpired before them, even Jesse was awestruck at the strange events.

"The only wing of the campus still in tact is the northern wing, the science labs didn't report any strange anomalies before contact with them was severed." A professor pointed to different images on a computer screen as he addressed the security guards near him. Then Jesse recalled escorting Karinka to Dr. Meraph's lab, that was in the northern wing. He rolled his eyes as his the wheels in his mind began to turn, he couldn't bring himself to believe that Meraph's crazy theories might be connected to these anomalies, but at the same time he couldn't ignore the fact that it was possible. He glanced around the hall, his mind set on the northern exit. He had to get to the science labs, but he knew the security would never allow him to leave the hall. But he was patient and waited for an opening appear, a bored guard left the north hall wide open when he made his way back to the center of the room. Jesse couldn't help but smile as the guard walked right past him. Fortunately for him, no one noticed him sprinting down the hall, either that or no one seemed to care. But that didn't matter right now. All that mattered was getting to the northern wing, if these anomalies were connected to Meraph and Kari's work, he would have to stop them. Considering there were no issues in the labs, he imagined that neither Karinka or Meraph had any idea that something was happening. And even if there were anomalies there, they were probably too wrapped up in their experiments to notice.

Jesse had to fight through anomalies that were far worse in comparison to those in the southern parts of the campus. The walls shifted and bent in impossible directions and even the inward swirl appeared from time to time on the walls across from each other. But instead of pulling objects into their swirling maw, boxes, text books, tables and other objects seemed to flow between the vortex, some items even collided with the wall at high speeds. Instead of breaking on contact, the wall rippled like water and the flying object flowed right through as if nothing stood in it's way. Sometimes it was all Jesse could do to pull his mind away from these stunning anomalies that broke every law of physics, he had to continuously remind himself to stay focused on reaching the labs. For what seemed like hours, he fought his way through the never ending obstacle course of anomalies. When he finally reached the labs and immediately noticed how the anomalies abruptly stopped a few feet away from the hall leading to the lab. Now he was almost certain that the anomalies originated from the labs.

He stood there awestruck as he pushed open the door to Meraph's lab. This was surely the largest anomaly he had seen yet. In the center of the lab, a large vortex spun inwards so violently, a slight gravitational pull threatened to knock Jesse off balance as two gravity sources seemed too rigorous on his body. The gravitational strain was so strong, Jesse practically had to drag himself across the ground to move. He hadn't seen Kari or the doctor since he entered the room, and judging by how the vortex was pulling just about everything in the room into it's swirling maw, Jesse feared the good doctor and Kari were long gone by now. Thinking about Kari's unfortunate descent into the maw made his heart burn with grief. He couldn't explain why he would feel so much grief for losing someone he had only known for a short time.

"Jesse? Is that you?" His heart stopped for a second as a trembling voice called out to him from behind the desk, that same fragile sounding voice belonging to Kari. She did all she could to pull herself up over the table to make herself visible, the gravitational anomaly seemed to be too much for her also.

"I'm here, Kari." Jesse leaned against the desk for support and made his way towards her. She turned in the direction of his voice and stretched out her hand, feeling through the air for him. Jesse took her hand and pulled her closer to him then scanned the room for the doctor.

"How'd you know it was me?"

"Cheap cologne has a distinctive scent." Kari offered him that fragile smile of her's as she latched onto his arm to keep her balance, despite gravity's threats to pull her down. "The doctor isn't in here, things started going wrong and he ran out." Jesse looked at her with a shocked expression, how could that guy just leave her here alone? In the back of his head, Jesse wished that a flying table would crush Meraph on his way out. But he had bigger issues to worry about now.

He realized the more and more objects pulled into the vortex, the larger it grew and the stronger the gravitational pull became, and the stronger the pull the harder it was to navigate through the room. Jesse could feel his arm go cold as Kari's grip grew tighter, indicating her awareness of the current danger. He swore under his breath as she began to tremble in fear, she wouldn't have been in here if that whack job of a doctor didn't abandon her. Jesse got a firm, but gentle, grip on her arm and guided, more like half-dragged her across the room towards the door. She staggered as he pulled her towards the door, but his firm grip on her arm kept her standing. When they stepped out in the open, Jesse realized the gravitational anomaly was alot stronger then he anticipated as it began to pull them both into the vortex. The momentum of the pull grew stronger and both Jesse and Kari were doomed to fall into the vortex if he didn't do something soon. As they slid across the floor towards the center of the lab, Jesse spotted a group of five to six pipes right stretching from the ceiling to the floor right in front of them. From his point of view, the pipes only appeared to be about twelve, maybe fifteen inches in diameter, barely enough to hold their weight. Either they would hit the pipes and it would hold, or they could give out under their weight as soon as they hit them, but he had to do something and fast. He tightened his grip on Kari and turned his back to the pipes, instantly losing his foothold against gravity and fell into the midst of the pipes.

The sudden impact with the pipes knocked Jesse breathless, he clenched his teeth as the bolts and protrusions dug into his back. He could hear the structure of the pipes straining and groaning, protesting Jesse's weight against their fragile structures. But even if the pipes broke, there was no way to escape the vortex, even if they tried to move now. There was nothing to get a firm foothold on, they'd fall right into the maw. He considered pushing Kari back towards the door, with the right amount of force, she would probably have enough momentum to make it to the door.

"Kari, I'm going to-" His voice trailed off as the base of the pipes snapped, breaking through the sheet rock structure. His eyes widened when he looked back at the swirling maw, it was so large, it began to devour portions of the building itself. His heart stopped when he looked back towards the door, the ceiling above it began to break under the pull and collapse in front of the door, blocking Kari's escape. Jesse had to react quickly, the building around them was crumbling and would eventually crush the both of them. He hated to admit it, but the swirling maw appeared to be to only exit. He clenched his teeth and tightened his grip on Kari as he threw himself into the open, instantly being sucked into the vortex. All he could do was pray. Pray that this desperate escape would not result in a terrible mistake.


	3. Demons and Snakes

His maniacal laughter echoed through the dungeons as he looked down over the endless abyss. In the shadows of the cave systems, Jesse couldn't get a clear view of the figure before him, but something about the cackling figure before him gave off the scent of a terrible evil. Though all of Jesse's senses protested his curiosity, he ignored all concern for himself and started towards the dark figure. He was so focused, he didn't even notice the girl standing next to the figure ahead. The girl was surrounded by a faint glow that, while it was weak and dim, lit the area around herself and the figure before her. Her golden armor gleamed in the light from the aura and her long, silky hair was braided behind her. It was all Jesse could do to tear his attention from her, as her beauty sought to suffocate him.

"Demon, release him! I'm begging you.." The girl sobbed as she pleaded with him, she took a handful of his tattered blue robe in her hands and rolled it between her fingers, clearly indicating her distress. The robe itself was so ornately sewn, it looked as if it were made specifically for royalty. Despite it's eleborate design, the sleeves and hems of the robe were worn and tattered, as if someone had carelessly ripped it apart. But with it's tattered appearance, it seemed to fit the devil that wore it. The 'Demon' glanced in her direction, his crimson eyes looked as if they would pierce her soul. Jesse shifted his weight as he tried to get a better view of the supposed Demon, but even now the shadows continued to conceal his face, only his bloodied orbs shone in the dark. The Demon reached out and tore the hem of his robe from her clutches then took her hands in his. Scars and demonic markings covered his muscular hands and stretched all the way up his arms, then vanished as the shadows swallowed them.

"O the tears of an Angel, how precious they are," The Demon threw his head back as he let out a guffaw when he mocked her. "While not meant for a creature of such holy beauty, still they are beautiful to behold." He ran the back of his finger across her cheek, wiping away the tears. She let her guard down as his finger grazed her face, a mistake she soon regretted. Without warning, the Demon wrapped his strong fingers around her delicate neck and lifted her up off the ground. She gasped at the sudden loss of air and frantically clawed at his hands as she struggled to break free. He laughed in her face at her futile efforts, then brought her closer to his face.

"Valhalla awaits you, Angel. Your beloved Jesirgr cannot reach you there!" Jesse's heart swelled with rage as he witnessed this horrible crime, how could the Demon abuse such a beautiful creature like this? But that was just it, a Demon had no remorse for anything. It was then Jesse agreed 'Demon' was a perfect title for this monster before him.

He started towards the Demon to end his madness, but he felt his heart jump into his throat as the Demon turned towards him and grinned.

"Ragnarok awaits.." Was all the Demon said as he pushed the girl towards Jesse. As Jesse caught the girl in his arms, the Demon took advantage of this distraction and withdrew his sword from it's concealed sheath and ran the poor girl through with it. Before Jesse even registered what happened, the sword pierced straight through the girl and into his chest. He howled as the sudden stream of pain tore through his body and robbed him of his breath, but even with his fatal wound his only concern was the girl in his arms. He ran his hand over her face, an involuntary gasp escaped him as he felt her pale skin was as cold as ice. He looked up at the Demon before him, who stood over them with his devilish smile. His crimson eyes flashed a hint of amusement as he sheathed his bloodied sword. Before Jesse could react, his vision blurred and all sounds vanished, but the pain of his wound tore at his senses as he faded into the dark.

Jesse's screams echoed through the caves as he awoke from a dead sleep. Instinctively, he ran his hands over his chest only to find the wound was missing completely, as if it was never there. Then he realized it, it wasn't there to begin with, he was dreaming. The Demon, the girl, everything was a dream, but it felt so real that it shook him to the core. He was so wrapped up in his nightmare, he didn't notice Kari's hands on his shoulders. She was knelt beside him with her blank eyes staring off into the distance, but the worried expression on her face displayed her true feelings.

"Are you okay?! You were screaming!" Finally pulling himself back into reality, Jesse sat up and smiled at her. He couldn't explain it, but her concern for him made his heart swell with joy.

"I'm fine, it was only a nightmare." He ran his hand over his chest once more, just to confirm that it was just that, a nightmare. But then he took a good look at his surroundings, the walls of the caves stretched on for miles in all directions it seemed, the cave appeared to be more of a city then an actual cave. Jesse took Kari's hand and led her towards the wall so he could get a better look. The stone walls were decorated with elaborate carvings of great battles oversaw by figures of great power, as these figures were carving more ornately then the soldiers. Above the battle, a beautiful carving of a massive dragon flew over the valiant soldiers. Mounted on it's back sat a beautiful maiden with sad eyes, the vicious war below seemed to be too disturbing for her. Jesse couldn't explain it, but he truly believed he had seen the girl once before.

"Where are we?" Kari's voice echoed through the halls as it broke the silence. She was still clutching Jesse's hand as she looked in all directions, straining her ears for any sounds other then their own footsteps.

"I'm not sure..But it looks like we're in some kind of hall, a city perhaps? There's carvings of a battle on the walls here." Jesse replied as he guided her hands to the walls. Instantly, she began running her fingers along every detail in the carvings.

As Jesse scanned the rest of the room, a strange statue in the northern end of the hall caught his eye. Carved in the image of a seven-headed snake, the statue was adorned with beautiful jewels and golden chains, an elaborate headpiece adorned the head of each snake, each decorated with their own collection of various gems. All seven heads were coiling in their signature S-shape, they all looked as if they were prepared to strike at any time. The onyx scales of the snake gleamed in the dimly lit hall, giving the snake an eerie appearance. One head stood out the most among the other six, it was decorated with more gems and golden plates were set strategically on it's head and neck, each plate adorned with even more jewels. A bare spot on the snake's head revealed a collection of oddly arranged carvings. Jesse ran his fingers over the snake's head, wiping away the years of dust filling the fissures of the carvings. As he did so, the gemmed eyes of each head began to emit an eerie glow. Before he could react, the armored snake head latched onto his hand with it's stone fangs, while the other six heads shifted and encircled the armored head. Suddenly, a strange force pulled at Jesse's other hand, even though he did his best to fight it, his hand was involuntarily pulled towards the armored head. With both hands upon the snake, a blue glow enveloped Jesse's entire body while a faint hum could be heard throughout the halls. He watched in terror as a blue glow composed the outlines of circular runes on his hands, while the snake heads watched him patiently. Finally, the armored head released it's grasp on Jesse's hand, leaving two small dots of blood where the fangs once were.

"You are worthy." The strange voice echoed through the halls as the snakes returned to their stone forms. Suddenly, Jesse's hands were freed from the armored head as the glow and the voice faded from the halls. He stumbled back, still dazed from what had transpired, and held up his hands, a glowing circular rune was present on the back of his left hand. A thin circle in the center of his hand displayed strange runes, while the outer rim was protected by a larger circle. Arranged between these circles were fifteen smaller runes, all different shapes and sizes. The surface of the runes and circles were glowing a very faint blue, just like the glow emitted from the seven-headed snake. He turned over his other hand to find a similar marking on the palm of his hand, but this one was smaller in size and the runes in the center were absent. He stared at the markings for what seemed like ages until he was interrupted by gentle hands. Kari ran her fingers along his arm to his hand, feeling the skin over the markings. Even though she couldn't see, Jesse had a feeling that she could still feel the presence of something foreign on his skin.

"Did you hear the voices too?" He asked her, still awestruck at the markings.

"I did. It spoke such sweet words, welcoming me in such a polite manner." She smiled as she recounted the event, but Jesse stared at her with a puzzled expression. The voices never said anything like that.

A faint light source illuminated the southern hall, the light glinted off of the morning dew collected on spider webs and even caught on the small jewels arranged in the walls. He prayed and hoped it was sunlight as he took Kari's hand and led her towards the light. Around the corner, a massive stone staircase stretched up through the halls towards what Jesse hoped to be the surface. All manner of insects and rodents scattered from the shadows as Jesse and Kari approached the stairs.

"Watch your step, Kari." He guided her up the stairs carefully, occasionally glancing at the markings on his hands. He had this unnerving feeling clawing at his heart, something had changed dramatically in his body, he could feel it. He just hoped it wasn't for the worst. Much like the massive structure of the halls, the monstrous set of stairs looked as if they were created for a being much larger then the average human, as each step was probably seven feet wide on it's own. They stretched on for what seemed like forever towards the surface, but Jesse was determined to get out of these eerie halls. As they made their way up the stairs, images of his nightmare flashed through his mind. He saw the girl standing before him with her tearstained cheeks, while the Demon stood behind her, his arms outstretched and his face turned skyward while he laughed maniacally. When Jesse took a step towards him, the Demon lowered his arms and turned towards him, giving him a menacing smiled. Even when the Demon looked directly at him, his face was still concealed by the shadows. This image ran through his mind several times, each time it ended in the Demon uttering the same, puzzling phrase from his nightmare. No matter how Jesse examined the phrase, he could derive no reason from it whatsoever.

"Ragnarok awaits."

He shook his head, erasing the thoughts from his mind. He didn't want to think about the Demon anymore, thinking of the way he treated the girl made him sick to his stomach. Jesse glanced over at Kari, who was staring blankly at the stairs, as always. Her serene countenance made his heart swell, in a way she reminded him of the girl in his dream. Perhaps she's what his subconcious based his dream on, but if that was the case, who was the demon? He ran his fingers through his dark, scruffy hair, forbearing himself of those horrible images.


	4. Green Wind

The two of them walked on for what seemed like hours through the frozen wastes. Upon exiting the underground city, Jesse was quite surprised to find the frozen terrain. The snow covered hills looked as if someone stretched an ivory, linen sheet across the hills very delicately. The snow glistened in the rays of the morning sun as it rose in the south, slowly rising above the high mountain peaks. While the frigid cold was troublesome, Jesse couldn't help but stare in wonder at the beautiful sight before him. But then his mind would register the cold hands wrapped around his bare arms. Kari's whole body shivered as the cold air nipped at her, she found herself snuggling closer to Jesse to stay warm.

"Do you know where we are?" She repeated this question several times, but she was always answered with silence, but she had faith in Jesse. She couldn't explain it, but she felt safer with him. And see as how Jesse was the only friend she had with her in this strange world, she had to trust him. Occasionally, she would run her fingers across the back of his hand. Though there was no physical difference in the complexion of his skin, something resonated from his hand that felt...unnatural. Something that wasn't there before. She just couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible would follow the appearance of this strange anomaly on his hand.

But just as she had gotten used to their steady pace through the snow, Kari felt Jesse's strong arms lift her off the ground and took off running down the snowy path.

"We're in luck Kari, there's a caravan up ahead!" An exultant tone could be heard in Jesse's voice through his ragged breaths. From afar, the caravan looked as if it were occupied by peaceful merchants and travelers. They seemed harmless enough to Jesse as he approached them, they were all clad in tattered rags and were lightly armed with flimsy swords and daggers. But that didn't mean much to Jesse, his only concern was to get Kari out of the cold. As he approached one of the wagons, the driver turned to him and offered him a toothy grin, a hint of amusement in his eyes.

"Well aren't you two a motley bunch. Don't look like you're from around here, eh?" The mans cobalt eyes shone from under his black, scruffy hair that enshrouded most of his face. His smile and tone were friendly enough, perhaps he could help them after all.

"We've been traveling for hours, we're tired and we're freezing. Can you give us a ride?" But Jesse had already climbed onto the back of the wagon and pulled a burlap blanket over Kari. The driver only shook his head and smiled as he tossed a coat fashioned from deer hide to Jesse.

"Yeah, don't worry. We'll get you out of the cold. My name's Fjonir by the way." He gave them that friendly smile of his as he turned around and flicked the reins, the horses gave whinnied painfully as the leather reins stung their skin, then began pulling the wagon down the snowy path.

Finally relieved to be off his feet, Jesse pulled his arms through the leather coat. The coarse texture of the coat irritated his skin, but he could feel the heat returning to his bare arms the moment he donned the coat. Kari was already fast asleep next to him, her head rested on his shoulder and the blanket pulled up over her frozen lips. Jesse smiled at her peaceful countenance, but then the image of the girl from his dreams flooded his mind once again. As tired as he was, he fought sleep as long as he could. He feared the dreams of the tortured girl would return and the image of the wretched Demon would haunt him. But all while he thought of fighting sleep, it overtook him and soon he was fast asleep.

And just as he feared, the images from before flooded his mind, but they were different this time. Only the Demon stood before him, the two of them were perched on a giant boulder in the midst of a raging battlefield. The Demon's face was clearly visible this time, his dark hair concealed most of his face, but the demonic markings from his arms stretched all the way up his neck and onto the left side of his face. though the markings covered his whole body it seemed, the right side of his face was marked only with a fresh wound. The deep cut resembled an oddly proportioned crescent moon, it looked as if the tip of an axe or sword just barely caught his cheek there. Without warning, the Demon reached out and cut the same odd shaped wound into Jesse's face, then wiped his hand across the blood on his own face and smeared it on Jesse's cheek.

"Now my blood is your's, valgt en." With that, he turned back to face the battle field, a wicked grin plastered on his face as he motioned towards Jesse's hand. Jesse was shocked to find himself wielding a massive axe in his right hand. It was so large, the axe itself must have weighed hundreds of pounds, but Jesse handled it as if it were light as a feather. The front edge of the blade stretched and bowed downwards, a common blade structure for an axe. But the back edge was forged in a much different manner, the edges of the blade protruded upwards and downwards, almost like the elaborate crest of a tropical bird. The markings of the front edge displayed a depiction of the raging skies, lightning stretched across the flat surface of the blade from all directions, while the back edge depicted a more demonic collection of markings, similar to the tattoos sprawled across the Demon's entire body.

But as soon as the events transpire to him, Jesse found himself wide awake in the back of the wagon. He fought to keep his breathing pattern nice and steady so that it wouldn't stir Kari from her peaceful rest. A warm substance rolled down the right side of Jesse's face and when he wiped the substance off his face, he was shocked to see it was blood. Frantically, he fished through the items scattered across the wagon until he took hold of a glass bottle. The liquid in the bottle shifted as he brought the shiny surface of the bottle near his face. Though his reflection in the bottle was faint, he could clearly see the outline of the same crescent-shaped wound under the stream of blood. He stared in awe at the site for several moments before the wagon came to a sudden stop and tore his attention from the bleeding wound. The sudden stop gave Kari a sudden jolt as Jesse was no longer there to hold her steady. She rubbed her eyes and assumed her blank stare as she felt through the air for Jesse.

"Jesse? Where are we?" Her hand came dangerously close to Jesse's face, he feared what her reaction would be if she learned he acquired a cut from a dream. Quickly, he threw his hand in front of his face and gently wrapped his fingers around her delicate hand. He pressed the leather sleeve of his coat against his face, but the coarse texture of the deer hide poked and prodded the exposed bit of fresh meat. He winced slightly from the pain, but quickly pushed the thought of pain from his mind when he realized why they had stopped.

Fjonir stood next to the wagon, his friendly smile plastered across his face as he shoved the point of a dagger in Jesse's face.

"Now, come on out of there.." A deceptive and amused tone was present in his voice, much different from the friendly tone he used with them before. Reluctantly, Jesse helped Kari out of the wagon and took a protective stance between her and Fjonir, never taking his eyes of the backstabbing driver.

"Bind his hands with this, don't worry about the girl," Fjonir said with a sinister smile as he tossed a bundle of hemp rope to a man at his side. "She won't go far on her own." Just before Jesse was pulled away from Kari, he felt her hands trembling with fear as the current events registered to her. Jesse glared at Fjonir with such malice that Fjonir defensively stepped away from Jesse's reach. As the bandit finished tying Jesse's hands, he formed his hands into tight fists, flexing the muscles in his hands against the hemp rope. But the rope was tied so tightly that is dug into the flesh of his hands. His brow furrowed into a malicious scowl as he waited for the right moment to strike. In the distance, he could see a group of horsemen riding towards them. He only prayed the approaching riders weren't allies of Fjonir and his bandits.

"What's this about, Fjonir?" Jesse shot him a death glare that shook him to the core, so much that Fjonir took another step back.

"What do you think, Sëinir? Master Loki'el would be most pleased with your soul as a sacrifice!"

Jesse had no idea what Fjonir spoke of, and he wasn't about to ask either. His only concern was getting out of this situation with Kari at his side. He gritted his teeth and lunged for the man at Fjonir's side, knocking him off his feet and into the deep snow. Fjonir thrust for Jesse's throat, and several times the blade of his dagger barely missed Jesse's neck. He sidestepped the whistling blade every time Fjonir stabbed for him, but even though he avoided the dagger's hungry edge, he knew it was only a matter of time before it caught him. Without warning, Jesse brought his foot down hard on Fjonir's shin, knocking him to one knee. He followed up by swinging his other leg across Fjonir's face with such force that it knocked him unconscious. But when Jesse turned to face Kari, it was all he could do to keep his senses as the rage boiled within him. The other bandit had his dagger pressed to Kari's neck, a sinister smiled was sprawled across his rugged face.

But as Jesse struggled with the ropes on his hands, a gentle breeze blew past him, and with it brought a sense of peace. An involuntary gasp escaped Jesse's mouth as a speck of light appeared near his face. A tiny hand extended from the light and gently touched his face, then the light turned away from him and faded. But as it faded, he realized that the ropes on his hands had vanished. Whatever was in the light had just saved him. With his hands free, Jesse gave the bandit a sinister grin as he charged for him. But when his fist collided with the bandit's face, the mark on the palm of his hand began to glow, so brightly that it shone straight through his hand and bathed the area in a brilliant blue light. The winds picked up and howled as it whipped past them, then grew even stronger as a dark shadow enveloped them. When the winds ceased, Jesse stared in awe at the gigantic wolf standing before him. The wolf's fur was almost as white as the snow but certain patches of his fur were tinted with a dark green coloration. He shifted his brilliant green eyes towards the bandit and effortlessly swiped him aside with his massive paw, a gust of wind followed in the wake of his paw. Jesse winced as a burning sensation coursed through his hand and when he glanced at the marking on his palm, one of the various runes glowed a dark green very briefly then faded then reappeared on the wolf's forehead.

He was so enraptured by the wolf's appearance, he didn't notice the rider's approaching behind him. Before he knew it, one of the rider's had pinned him to the ground and was tying his hands. But he was amazed when the wolf assumed a defensive position in front of Kari as the other rider's attempted to capture her.

"Don't worry about the hound just yet! Focus on the boy, bind his hands with the seals. He musn't be able to use the runebrand." The voice came from the rider above him, he barked the orders to the others, who quickly abandoned the task of besting the wolf and turned to Jesse. They wrapped white cloth around his hands, but when it made contact with his skin, blue runes materialized on the stitched surface of the cloth and searing pain raged through his whole body for a split second, then died away. As the pain faded, the rider's pulled him to his feet and pushed him towards the wolf and Kari.

"Recall your hound, boy." The man standing before him was clad in light armor and a broadsword hung at his belt. His face was worn and furrowed, it looked as if he had seen many battles in his time. Jesse looked up at the wolf, who stared back at him with those bright green eyes. The question of how this being came to be was beyond anything Jesse could imagine, but he knew for sure that the beast was somehow tied to him.

"I..I don't know what to do with it.." He looked back towards the riders and shrugged. The rugged man sighed and grabbed Jesse's arm and pushed him back towards one of the pack horses.

"Newly branded I see? Then I guess we'll just leave it and the girl here. Get on that horse, we're leaving." Jesse glanced back at Kari and the wolf and swore under his breath, he couldn't just leave her here. And even if the wolf was protecting her now, what would happen to Kari if she stayed here? But as these thoughts ran through Jesse's head, he watched as the wolf gently nudged Kari, bearing the scruff of his neck to her.

"Kari! Climb onto the wolf's back." He called to her as he climb on the back of the pack horse. Kari gathered handfuls of the wolf's scruff for a tighter grip as it suddenly leapt to it's feet and started after the rider's. It stayed behind Jesse's horse, but kept himself distanced from the rest of the riders to avoid capture. Jesse constantly glanced back at them, still somewhat wary of the wolf's true intent, but for now he was thankful it was taking such good care of Kari. Every now and then, the rider's would send one of their own to try and take Kari from the wolf. But as soon as they even started towards them, the wolf bared it's teeth and let loose a vicious growl as he stepped closer to the rider, quickly sending the rider back onto his horse.

Jesse stared into the distance as he watched a city slowly appear on the horizon. From afar, it looked so small and rural, but he new for sure that it had to be quite large to be seen from here. He glanced down at the supposed seals on his hands, the white cloth now clearly displayed the blue runes all across their surface. The ropes tying his hands together were barely even tied, it seemed they were more concerned with sealing his hands rather then binding him. He looked skyward and sighed, how he wished that he could just get away from all of this and get back to his normal lifestyle. But from the way things were turning out, it looked as if this would be his new lifestyle now. He knew that on his own he could handle it, but he also knew that with Kari, he would have to work harder to protect her if this was how this new world was going to treat them.


	5. Imprisoned

Darkness and damp walls were all that greeted Jesse every day he awoke in the dungeon. After spending several days traveling with the riders, they threw him into this decrepit dungeon and hadn't returned since. No one came to bring him food or even inform him of the charges for his imprisonment, but that didn't matter so much to him, all he cared about was Kari. When they entered the city walls, the wolf accompanied her through the streets a good ways. The people on the streets scurried out the wolf's way, hiding in their homes, in alleys, hiding anywhere they possibly could as the green wolf passed them. But then without warning, he vanished and Kari was left defenseless. Jesse could feel his blood run cold as one of the riders approached her. He took her hand and guided her past the others, towards something Jesse assumed was the city capital. He almost considered tearing off the ropes and running after them, but as he took a step towards them, the rider behind him put a hand on his shoulder and offered a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, I swear to you no one will lay a hand on her." He told him as he nudged Jesse towards a cellar entrance. Reluctantly, he complied and stepped down into the cellar, but he was still on high alert for Kari's well being. With the wolf at her side, Jesse had grown comfortable with him safeguarding her and now that he was gone, his mind was restless.

He sat with his back against the wall of the cell as he stared blankly at the ceiling as he recounted the events with the giant wolf. No matter how he tried, he could not determine the origins of the wolf, but he knew that somehow it was indeed connected to him. He also recalled that when the wolf first appeared, a strange voice echoed through his mind. In all the incoherent chatter of the voice, only one word could be understood. The thought of the name, Freki, sent images of the gigantic wolf through Jesse's mind. _Ahh..that must be your name.._. He thought to himself as he continued to envision the wolf before him. But learning the massive wolf's name did not bring peace to his mind as Kari's current status troubled him still. He stared down the hall towards the cellar exit, hoping someone would bring him some information on Kari, but he mocked himself for such hopes.

But to his surprise, the cellar door swung inward and sunlight poured in and bathed the dark dungeon with it's morning light, nearly blinding Jesse. When he opened his eyes, he couldn't help but smile as a small and delicate hand felt it's way through the bars.

"Jesse?" Kari called to him as she reached through the bars. Jesse interlaced his fingers with her's and rest his forehead against the cold bars that sent chills down his spine.

"Are you okay?" His voice was calm and gentle as he tucked wild strands of her hair behind her ear. She was wearing an elegantly stitched wool dress and sections of her sandy hair were pulled back into delicate braids. Judging by her clothing and healthy appearance, the people of this city were taking good care of her. His heart was filled with relief at this revelation.

"I'm fine, but what about you? Ever since you've been in here, the people of the city have been demanding you be executed! They're afraid of you.." Her hands began to tremble as she spoke, she was on the verge of tears. But Jesse steadied her hands and gently stroked her face to calm her down. He paused for a moment and took a deep breath, taking in all of her words one by one. Execute me..?

"Listen to me..if that happens, you must stay in the city. Understand?"

"How can I stay in the city if these people are responsible for your death?" Tears rolled down her face and over Jesse's fingers.

"I don't know why these people are afraid of me, but if they are taking care of you, it is best that you stay here." He knew it would be hard for her to accept these people, but with him gone there would be no one to take care of her in this strange world. At least he knew the people in this city had the decency to take her in and care for her. Her ragged sobs echoed through the dungeon as she squeezed Jesse's hands.

"I'll ask the King to let you go...He's the one who spoke up for me when the other's insisted on imprisoning me, perhaps he will hear me out." She sniffled and cleared her throat, then started towards the door, reaching out her hands and feeling along the cold walls to the door. Jesse slumped on the cold, stone floor and stared at the door patiently. All troubles of Kari's safety had been resolved, but now the thoughts of his execution lingered in his restless mind. Why would they kill him? What crime could he have committed that sparked their rage?

He leaned his head against the stone wall and closed his eyes, recounting the recent events. He wished that when he opened his eyes, he would wake up in England and everything would've been a terrible dream. But when he opened his eyes, he was only met with the cold stone walls of the cellar. At least if he could just get Kari back home, he would be more then willing to return and accept his execution. But even with Kari in the care of these people, he still felt uneasy about leaving her here. He glanced down at his hands, they were still covered in the runed bandages. He couldn't help but wonder if the 'runebrand' was something that could be used as the means of his escape, but then he remembered the riders referring to the bandages as seals. If they were indeed seals, he would have to remove them first. But as he started to unravel the bandages, searing pain shot through his body, but it let up as soon as he moved his fingers away from the seals.

He was torn from his thoughts of the seals when the iron doors of the cellar swung inwards, slamming against the stone walls. Jesse recognized the newcomer as the rider who had assured him of Kari's safety. He sat down in front of Jesse's cell and pushed a plate of food under the bars. Jesse didn't even acknowledge the plate and shot a piercing glare at the man, who only offered him a friendly smile.

"I thought the prison guards were feeding you." The man motioned to the plate of bread before Jesse, but he paid no mind to it.

Despite the man's friendly tone, Jesse kept his glare fixed on him. But the man wasn't moved by his glare, he retained his carefree countenance. Most people that crossed Jesse and earned a death glare from him usually turned and walked away like a dog with it's tail between it's legs, but not this man.

"Kari mentioned the people are demanding my execution. Why?" Jesse leaned against the wall and fingered the food on the plate before him, his voice was low and monotoned, but the man smiled as a malicious undertone could be heard.

"Because you're a Sëinir, a representative of the Varënir and the Kænir kingdoms. You're not welcome here." Even with such calloused words, the man kept his friendly smile.

"The Varënir and the Kænir are warring kingdoms, both hellbent on using their brute strength and magic to conquer this world. My ancestors, the founders of the Krähmgr Kingdom, vowed to never participate in the greedy wars of the Varënir and Kænir." Jesse held up his hands and tapped the back of his hand, still glaring at the man.

"This runebrand..Belongs only to Sëinir's, correct?" The man nodded and unwrapped the runed bandage on Jesse's hand, then pointed to the markings.

"This one here is known as Time and on your left hand is Space. Both markings must be in tact in order for you to use their power." He explained to Jesse while tracing his finger over the runes embedded in the markings.

"What are these runebrands for?" Jesse pulled his hand away and examined the markings.

"Sëinir's themselves are spirit callers, they are capable of communing with the spirits and if the spirit allows it, the Sëinir can either use the power of the spirit as their own or call them from the spirit world to their side." Jesse almost laughed in the man's face at his explanation, but then he remembered the wolf. Before he could even ask, the man interrupted him.

"Yes, that's right. That wolf protecting the girl so diligently was a spirit beast. Your spirit beast."

Jesse paused for a moment and contemplated the man's words. Now that he thought about it, the connection he felt to the wolf was rather strange, it was almost spiritual. If what the man said was true, it was indeed spiritual. Then he chuckled and shot the man a mischievous grin.

"You're explaining this to me as if you've already been convinced I don't know it already." The man just smiled and nodded, then held out his hand.

"What's your name, boy?"

"Jesse. And you are?"

"Bjolar, fourth King of Krähmgr." He rose to his feet and produced the cellar keys from his belt and held it up for Jesse to see."

"The girl told me that you're neither Varënir nor Kænir." He grinned as he began unlocking the cellar door. "Now, I've only known Karimir for a few days, but I can tell she's very trustworthy."

"Karimir?" Jesse gave him a confused stare.

"Yes, that's what the citizens have started calling her. It means 'clouded eyes of wisdom'. Very fitting for her, don't you think?"

"So she's told you I'm not part of those warring kingdoms, what do you plan to do with me now?"

"Let you go of course. She requested that you be released." The barred door swung outwards and clanged against the bars of the cellar as Bjolar stepped out of the way and motioned towards the doors.

"On behalf of Miss Karimir, you are free." Jesse rose to his feet and stared past Bjolar towards the door, then glanced back at him. When he saw he had no objections, Jesse made his way out the door and into the courtyard. A triumphant smile spread across his face as he imagined Kari's reaction when he found her, she would be so relieved. Holding his right hand palm up, he traced the details of the runebrands with his eyes. Jesse could already tell that he was going to enjoy his new power as a Sëinir.


End file.
